Mechanical means for severing or trimming the edges of carpets



March 11, 1930. A. FIMQCOLLUM 1,750,535

MECHANICAL MEANS FOR SEVERING OR 'TRIMMING THE EDGES 0F CARPETS Filedlarch 23, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l wwf/wzam March 11, 1930. A. F. MccOLLUMMECHANICAL MEANS FOR SEVERING OR TRIMMING THE EDGES 0F CARPETS 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed larch 23, 1926 Patented Mar. 11, 1930 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE ALFRED F. MCCOLLUM, OF BLOOMSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORTO THE MAGEE CARPET 00., OF BLOOMSBUR-G, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OFPENNSYL- VANIA MECHANICAL MEANS FOR SEVERING OR TEIMMING THE EDGES 0FCARPETS Application filed. March 23, 1926.

The object of this invention is to provide improved mechanical means forsevering or trimming the edges of carpets prior to the binding of saidedges or to the attachment thereto of a suitable fringe or ornamentalborder.

Another and more specific object of the invention is to provide meansfor movably supporting the carpet during the cutting operation so thatthe latter may with facility be moved past the relatively stationarycutting means.

In the attached drawings:

Figure 1 is a more or less diagrammatic front elevation of a machinemade in accord ance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22, Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in persective of the essential parts of thecutting mechanism.

In practicing my invention, I have found it possible to utilize astandard sewing machine, the details of whose mechanism requires nodescription here, except as to those parts directly affected by thepresent inven tion.

With reference therefore to Fig. 8, I have shown in their properrelative positions the presser bar 1 of a sewing machine of well knownmake, which carries at its lower end a presser foot 2 adapted tocooperate with an underlying feeding foot 3 in well known manner toeffect an intermittent movement of the material through the machine. Foraccomplishing this movement, the presser foot is mounted in the presentinstance upon a bar 4 which at its forward end is supported upon arelatively fixed roller 5 and at its rear end is pivotally secured totheupper end of an oscillatory bar 6 whereby the bar 4 is given alongitudinal reciprocatory movement required by the feeding foot for itsoperation. The under portion of that part of the bar resting on theroller 5 is camshaped so that at the forward end of the stroke thepresser foot is carried toward the under side of the feeding foot,whereby the latter grips the under side of that portion of the carpetwhich may be inserted between Serial No. 96,897.

the presser foot and the feeding foot, while at the rear end of thestroke, the feeding foot is dropped further from the presser foot torelease the carpet until the feeding foot again engages at the forwardend of the stroke. During a portion of the rearward movement of thefeeding foot, the latter engages the carpet as described and carries thelatter backwardly with it. These are standard parts of a sewing machinemechanism and form only an incidental part of the present invention.

Again referring to Fig. 3, the reference numeral 7 indicates the needlebar which in the present instance, instead of carrying a needle, hassecured to its lower end a cutting blade 8 whose cutting edge isdirected towards the front of the machine or towards that side fromwhich the carpet is fed between the presser foot and the feeding foot.This blade is tapered towards its lower end and extends between thebifurcated ends of the presser foot and through the longitudinal slot ofthe feeding foot.

In the operation of the machine, the edge of the carpet which is to besevered is passed between the presser foot 2, and the feeding foot 3 inthe usual manner of sewing and is advanced with an intermittent movementtoward the rear of the machine. At the same time, the needle bar 7' isreciprocated vertically so that the blade 8 is rapidly reciprocated in avertical direction.

It will be understood that the reciprocation of thefeeding foot is anintermittent one and is synchronized with the reciprocation of theneedle bar 7 so that during the down or cutting stroke of the needlebar, the bar t remains stationary in an advance position in which aspreviously described the feeding foot bears against and confines theedge of the carpet between itself and the presser foot. It will also benoted that the cutting edge of the blade 8 curves outwardly toward thetop away from the bar 7 and toward the front of the machine so that theactual division made in the fabric at each downward stroke of the bladeextends well in advance or forwardly of the cutting edge of the knifewhen the latter is elevated, as shown in Fig. 3. In

the sequence of operations and following the downward movement of theblade 8 and during the return upward movement of the blade, the feedingfoot is moved rearwardly carrying with it the carpet so that as theblade again descends, it again comes into contact with an unsevered partof the fabric. The functions of the various parts and the sequence ofoperation, with the exception of the actual cutting, are the same as thesequence of operations in the standard sewing machine and will bereadily understood.

In order to support the carpet and to facilitate the passage of the edgeportion through the cutting mechanism, I preferably provide a table orconveyor consisting of a plurality of rotatable rolls 9 arranged onparallel axes substantially at right angles to the path of movement ofthe carpet through the machine. These rolls also are preferably arrangedon an inclined plane, the lower end of which is toward the rear of themachine so that the rug tends to pass down the table by gravity, therebyassisting the movement of the carpet through the cutting mechanism.

In Fig. 1, I have indicated a carpet in position upon the rolls 9, thecarpet designated by the reference numeral 11 being rolled with its edgeextending under the cutting mechanism.

I claim:

1. In a fabric-cutting machine, the combination with a work support, ofa vertically reciprocatory cutting blade having an inclined cuttingedge, mechanism for actuating said blade, mechanism operating insynchronism with the blade for intermittently advancing the fabric withrespect to the blade, said advancing mechanism including afabric-actuating member adapted to engage the under side of the fabricat points adjacent said blade whereby said member functions also tosupport the fabric at points immediately adjacent the cuttin operation,and means adapted to engage the top of said fabric and cooperative withsaid underlying member to anchor the fabric during the cuttingoperation.

2. In a farbric-cutting machine, the combination with a verticallyreciprocatory blade having an inclined cutting edge, of cooperatingelements adapted respectively to engage the top and bottom of the fabricat points immediately adjacent the said blade for anchoring the fabricduring the cutting operation, and mechanism including one of saidelements for intermittently advancing the fabric with respect to and intimed relation with the movements of said blade.

ALFRED F. McCOLLUM,

